The Modoc are a Native American people who originally lived in the area which is now northeastern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and central
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oreg ...
. They are currently divided between
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
and
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
and are enrolled in either of two
federally recognized tribes
This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...
, the
Klamath Tribes
The Klamath Tribes, formerly the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon, are a federally recognized Native American Nation consisting of three Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited Southern Oregon and Northern California in the United St ...
in Oregon and the Modoc Tribe of
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
Klamath Klamath may refer to:
Ethnic groups
*Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon
**Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon
*Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people
Places in the United States
* ...
, spoke dialectic varieties of the Klamathan/Lutuamian language, a branch of the Plateau Penutian language family. Both peoples called themselves ''maklaks'', meaning "people". To distinguish between the tribes, the Modoc called themselves ''Moatokni maklaks'', from ''muat'' meaning "South". The
Achomawi
Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi), are the northerly nine (out of eleven) bands of the Pit River tribe of Palaihnihan Native Americans who live in what is now northeastern California in the United States. These 5 autonomous ban ...
, a band of the
Pit River tribe
The Pit River Tribe is a federally recognized tribe of eleven bands of indigenous peoples of California. They primarily live along the Pit River in the northeast corner of California.
Current population and geography
About 600 Modoc live in
Klamath County, Oregon
Klamath County ( ) is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,413. The county seat is Klamath Falls. The county was named for the Klamath, the tribe of Native Americans living in the a ...
, in and around their ancestral homelands. This group includes those who stayed on the reservation during the
Modoc War
The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard M ...
, as well as the descendants of those who chose to return in 1909 to Oregon from Indian Territory in Oklahoma or Kansas. Since that time, many have followed the path of the
Klamath Klamath may refer to:
Ethnic groups
*Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon
**Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon
*Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people
Places in the United States
* ...
. The shared tribal government of the Klamath, Modoc and Yahooskin in Oregon is known as the
Klamath Tribes
The Klamath Tribes, formerly the Klamath Indian Tribe of Oregon, are a federally recognized Native American Nation consisting of three Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited Southern Oregon and Northern California in the United St ...
.
Two hundred Modoc live in
Oklahoma
Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
on a small reservation in
Ottawa County, Oklahoma
Ottawa County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,285. Its county seat is Miami. The county was named for the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma.Kintpuash
Kintpuash, also known as Kientpaush, Kientpoos, and Captain Jack (c. 1837 – October 3, 1873), was a chief of the Modoc tribe of California and Oregon. Kintpuash's name in the Modoc language meant 'Strikes the water brashly.'
He led a ...
) led during the Modoc War. The federal government officially recognized the
Modoc Tribe of Oklahoma
The Modoc Nation is a federally recognized tribe of Modoc people, located in Ottawa County in the northeast corner of Oklahoma and Modoc and Siskiyou counties in northeast California.Self, Burl EModoc.''Oklahoma Historical Society's Encyclopedia ...
in 1978, and its constitution was approved in 1991.
Early population
Estimates for the pre-contact populations of most native groups in California have varied substantially.
James Mooney
James Mooney (February 10, 1861 – December 22, 1921) was an American ethnographer who lived for several years among the Cherokee. Known as "The Indian Man", he conducted major studies of Southeastern Indians, as well as of tribes on the Gr ...
put the aboriginal population of the Modoc at 400.
Alfred L. Kroeber
Alfred Louis Kroeber (June 11, 1876 – October 5, 1960) was an American cultural anthropologist. He received his PhD under Franz Boas at Columbia University in 1901, the first doctorate in anthropology awarded by Columbia. He was also the first ...
estimated the Modoc population within California as 500 at the year 1770. University of Oregon anthropologist Theodore Stern suggested that there had been a total of about 500 Modoc.Stern, pp. 446–456 In 1846, the population may have included "perhaps 600 warriors (an overestimate, probably)".Thrapp, p. 1276
History
Pre-contact
Until the 19th century, when European explorers first encountered the Modoc, like all
Plateau Indians
Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples ...
, they caught salmon during salmon runs and migrated seasonally to hunt and gather other food.Arnold, ''et al.'', p. 507 In winter, they built earthen dugout lodges shaped like beehives, covered with sticks and plastered with mud, near lake shores with reliable sources of seeds from aquatic
wokas
''Nuphar polysepala'' (the great yellow pond-lily or wokas; syn. ''Nuphar polysepalum'' orth. err., ''Nuphar lutea'' subsp. ''polysepala'' (Engelm.) E.O.Beal) is a species of ''Nuphar'' native to western North America.Flora of North America''Nuph ...
plants and fishing.Pease, pp. 46–48
Neighboring groups
In addition to the Klamath, with whom they shared a language and the
Modoc Plateau
__NOTOC__
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. Nearly of the Modoc National Forest are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the Warner Mountains in the ...
, the groups neighboring the Modoc home were:
* Shasta on the Klamath River;
* Rogue River Athabaskans and
Takelma
The Takelma (also Dagelma) are a Native American people who originally lived in the Rogue Valley of interior southwestern Oregon.
Most of their villages were sited along the Rogue River. The name ''Takelma'' means "(Those) Along the River".
His ...
west over the
Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
;
*
Northern Paiute
Northern may refer to the following:
Geography
* North, a point in direction
* Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe
* Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States
* Northern Province, Sri Lanka
* Northern Range, a r ...
east in the desert;
*
Karuk
The Karuk people are an indigenous people of California, and the Karuk Tribe is one of the largest tribes in California. Karuks are also enrolled in two other federally recognized tribes, the Cher-Ae Heights Indian Community of the Trinidad Ran ...
and
Yurok
The Yurok (Karuk language: Yurúkvaarar / Yuru Kyara - "downriver Indian; i.e. Yurok Indian") are an Indigenous people from along the Klamath River and Pacific coast, whose homelands are located in present-day California stretching from Trinidad ...
further down the Klamath River; and
*
Achomawi
Achomawi (also Achumawi, Ajumawi and Ahjumawi), are the northerly nine (out of eleven) bands of the Pit River tribe of Palaihnihan Native Americans who live in what is now northeastern California in the United States. These 5 autonomous ban ...
or ''Pit River'' to the south, in the meadows of the Pit River drainages.
The Modoc, Northern Paiute, and Achomawi shared
Goose Lake Valley
The Goose Lake Valley is located in south-central Oregon and northeastern California in the United States. It is a high valley at the northwestern corner of North America's Great Basin. Much of the valley floor is covered by Goose Lake, a lar ...
.
Settlements
The known Modoc village sites are ''Agawesh,'' where Willow Creek enters
Lower Klamath Lake
Lower Klamath Lake is a lake in Siskiyou County, California. At one time it was connected to Upper Klamath Lake. It currently is used to hold overflow water for Klamath Project irrigation uses.
The lake is in Northern California, near the borde ...
, of the ''Gombatwa·s'' or Lower Klamath Lake People Band; ''Kumbat'' and ''Pashha'' on the shores of
Tule Lake
Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.
Geography
Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The eleva ...
of the ''Pasganwa·s'' or Tule Lake People Band; and ''Wachamshwash'' and ''Nushalt-Hagak-ni'' on the Lost River of the ''Goġewa·s'' or Lower Lost River People Band.Kroeber, pp. 305–335 The Modoc have also been known as the Modok (Brandt and Davis-Kimball xvi).
First contact
In the 1820s,
Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden (alternately Skeene, Skein, or Skeen; baptised 12 February 1790 – 27 September 1854) was a British-Canadian fur trader and an early explorer of what is now British Columbia and the Western United States. During his many expedi ...
, an explorer for the
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC; french: Compagnie de la Baie d'Hudson) is a Canadian retail business group. A fur trading business for much of its existence, HBC now owns and operates retail stores in Canada. The company's namesake business div ...
, established trade with the
Klamath people
The Klamath people are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Today Klamath people are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes:
* Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin (Yahu ...
north of the Modoc.
Applegate Trail established
Brothers
Jesse
Jesse may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible.
* Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Jesse (surname), a list of people
Music
* ''Jesse'' ( ...
and
Lindsay Applegate
Lindsay Applegate (September 18, 1808 – November 28, 1892) was an American pioneer known for his participation in blazing the Applegate Trail, an alternative route of the Oregon Trail. The trail was blazed with his brothers Charles and Jesse in ...
, accompanied by 13 other white settlers, established the
Applegate Trail
The Applegate Trail was an emigrant trail through the present-day U.S. states of Idaho, Nevada, California, and Oregon used in the mid-19th century by emigrants on the American frontier. It was originally intended as a less dangerous alternative t ...
, or South Emigrant Trail, in 1846. It connected a point on the
Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail was a east–west, large-wheeled wagon route and Westward Expansion Trails, emigrant trail in the United States that connected the Missouri River to valleys in Oregon. The eastern part of the Oregon Trail spanned part of what ...
near
Fort Hall, Idaho
Fort Hall is a census-designated place (CDP) in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Idaho which is split between Bannock County in the south and Bingham County in the north. It is located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation along the Sn ...
, and the
Willamette Valley
The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...
in western Oregon. The new route was created to encourage European-Americans to come to western Oregon, and to eliminate the hazards encountered on the Columbia Route. Since the Hudson's Bay Company controlled the Columbia Route, development of an alternate route enabled migration even if there were trouble between the United States and the United Kingdom. The Applegate brothers became the first known white people in present-day
Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano and has the largest total area covered by a volcano in the Cascade Range.
...
.
The opening of the Applegate Trail appeared to bring the first regular contact between the Modoc and the European-American settlers, who had largely ignored their territory before. Many of the events of the
Modoc War
The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard M ...
took place along the trail.
Emigrant invasion
From 1846 to 1873, thousands of emigrants entered the Modoc territory. Beginning in 1847, the Modoc raided the invading emigrants on the Applegate TrailMichno, pp. 90–91 under the leadership of Old Chief Schonchin.
In September 1852, the Modoc destroyed an emigrant train at Bloody Point on the east shore of
Tule Lake
Tule Lake ( ) is an intermittent lake covering an area of , long and across, in northeastern Siskiyou County and northwestern Modoc County in California, along the border with Oregon.
Geography
Tule Lake is fed by the Lost River. The eleva ...
, killing all but three of the 65 people in the party. The Modoc took two young girls as captives. One or both of them may have been killed several years later by jealous Modoc women.Murray, pp. 24–28 The only man to survive the attack made his way to
Yreka, California
Yreka ( ) is the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 7,807, reflecting a meager increase fro ...
. After hearing his news, Yreka settlers organized a militia under Sheriff Charles McDermit, Jim Crosby, and Ben Wright. They went to the scene of the massacre to bury the dead and avenge their deaths. Crosby's party had a skirmish with a band of Modoc and returned to Yreka.
Wright and a small group stayed on to avenge the deaths. He was a notorious Indian hater. Accounts differ as to what took place when Wright's party met the Modoc on the Lost River, but most agree that Wright planned to ambush them, which he did in November 1852. Wright and his forces attacked, killing approximately 40 Modoc, in what came to be known as the "Ben Wright Massacre."
Treaty with the United States
The United States, the Klamath, the Modoc, and the
Yahooskin
The Klamath people are a Native American tribe of the Plateau culture area in Southern Oregon and Northern California. Today Klamath people are enrolled in the federally recognized tribes:
* Klamath Tribes (Klamath, Modoc, and Yahooskin (Yahu ...
band of
Snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
tribes signed a treaty in 1864 that established the
Klamath Reservation Klamath may refer to:
Ethnic groups
*Klamath people, a Native American people of California and Oregon
** Klamath Tribes, a federally recognized group of tribes in Oregon
*Klamath language, spoken by the Klamath people
Places in the United States
...
. It required the tribes to cede the land bounded on the north by the 44th parallel, on the west and south by the ridges of the
Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, ...
, and on the east by lines touching Goose Lake and Henley Lake back up to the 44th parallel.''Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs'', pp. 104–105
In return, the United States was to make a lump sum payment of $35,000, and annual payments totaling $80,000 over 15 years, as well as provide infrastructure and staff for a reservation. The treaty provided that if the Indians drank or stored intoxicating liquor on the reservation, the payments could be withheld and that the United States could locate additional tribes on the reservation in the future.
The treaty required that the Modoc surrender their lands near Lost River, Tule Lake, and Lower Klamath Lake in exchange for lands in the Upper Klamath Valley. They did so, under the leadership of Chief Schonchin. The Indian agent estimated the total population of the three tribes at about 2,000 when the treaty was signed.
The land of the reservation did not provide enough food for both the Klamath and the Modoc peoples. Illness and tension between the tribes increased. The Modoc requested a separate reservation closer to their ancestral home, but neither the federal nor the California government approved it.
In 1870 ''
Kintpuash
Kintpuash, also known as Kientpaush, Kientpoos, and Captain Jack (c. 1837 – October 3, 1873), was a chief of the Modoc tribe of California and Oregon. Kintpuash's name in the Modoc language meant 'Strikes the water brashly.'
He led a ...
'' (also called Captain Jack) led a band of Modoc to leave the reservation and return to their traditional homelands. They built a village near the Lost River. These Modoc had not been adequately represented in the treaty negotiations and wished to end the harassment by the Klamath on the reservation.
Modoc War
In November 1872, the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
was sent to Lost River to attempt to force Kintpuash's band back to the reservation. A
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
broke out, and the Modoc escaped to what is called
Captain Jack's Stronghold
Captain Jack's Stronghold was a holdout of the Modoc people that is located between Tulelake and Canby, California. The stronghold, which is now part of Lava Beds National Monument, is named for Native American chief Kintpuash who was also kn ...
in what is now
Lava Beds National Monument
Lava Beds National Monument is located in northeastern California, in Siskiyou and Modoc counties. The monument lies on the northeastern flank of Medicine Lake Volcano and has the largest total area covered by a volcano in the Cascade Range.
...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. The band of fewer than 53 warriors was able to hold off the 3,000 U.S. Army troops for several months, defeating them in combat several times. In April 1873, the Modoc left the Stronghold and began to splinter. Kintpuash and his group were the last to be captured, on June 4, 1873, when they voluntarily gave themselves up. U.S. government personnel had assured them that their people would be treated fairly and the warriors would be allowed to live on their own land.Arnold, ''et al.'', pp. 507–509
The U.S. Army tried, convicted and executed Kintpuash and three of his warriors in October 1873 for the murder of Major General
Edward Canby
Edward Richard Sprigg Canby (November 9, 1817 – April 11, 1873) was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War.
In 1861–1862, Canby commanded the Department of New Mexico, defeating the Confederate Gene ...
earlier that year at a parley. Canby had violated agreements made with the Modoc. The Army sent the rest of the band to Oklahoma as
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...
.
In the 1870s,
Peter Cooper
Peter Cooper (February 12, 1791April 4, 1883) was an American industrialist, inventor, philanthropist, and politician. He designed and built the first American steam locomotive, the '' Tom Thumb'', founded the Cooper Union for the Advancement of ...
brought Indians to speak to Indian rights groups in eastern cities. One of the delegations was from the Modoc and Klamath tribes. In 1909, the group in Oklahoma was given permission to return to Oregon. Several people did, but most stayed at their new home.
Culture
The religion of the Modoc is not known in detail. The number five figured heavily in ritual, as in the ''Shuyuhalsh'', a five-night dance rite of passage for adolescent girls. A
sweat lodge
A sweat lodge is a low profile hut, typically dome-shaped or oblong, and made with natural materials. The structure is the ''lodge'', and the ceremony performed within the structure may be called by some cultures a purification ceremony or simply ...
was used for purification and mourning ceremonies.Kroeber, pp. 320–321
Namesakes
Modoc Plateau
__NOTOC__
The Modoc Plateau lies in the northeast corner of California as well as parts of Oregon and Nevada. Nearly of the Modoc National Forest are on the plateau between the Medicine Lake Highlands in the west and the Warner Mountains in the ...
,
Modoc National Forest
Modoc National Forest is a U.S. national forest in Northeastern California.
Geography
The Modoc National Forest protects parts of Modoc (82.9% of acreage), Lassen (9.4%), and Siskiyou (7.7%) counties. Most of the forest was covered by immense ...
,
Modoc County, California
Modoc County () is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county seat ...
; Modoc, Indiana; and numerous other places are named after this group of people.
Indigenous peoples of California
The indigenous peoples of California (known as Native Californians) are the indigenous inhabitants who have lived or currently live in the geographic area within the current boundaries of California before and after the arrival of Europeans. ...